Rise and Shine

Milwaukee, Sept 22

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The lines:

‘Are we there yet?’

More lines:

KaavyaWriting: “See that Discovery World building in the background? The line starts half a mile away from that building, snakes in a triple bend, then wraps around the building to come out the other side and snake onward. And people are still arriving. So huge, and I’m so PROUD Obama has such strong support. Long line, continue on!”

The message:

The ‘Wow, this is like 2008 all over again’ face:

The greeting:

The smile:

The crowd:

‘Mitt Romney: The Worst Week in Washington’

Thank you Donna

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Next week:

Monday: The President will travel to New York City to participate in the 67th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). While in New York City, the President and First Lady will also tape an appearance on “The View.”

Tuesday: The President will deliver remarks to the UN General Assembly; the First Lady will attend the event. The President will then speak at the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting. He will return to the White House in the evening.

Wednesday: The President will travel to Bowling Green and Kent, Ohio for campaign events.

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‘Two Plans’

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President Barack Obama greets people gathered outside of Deb’s Ice Cream & Deli in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, July 10, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

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Charles Pierce: “If you want a president who will make things better in the African-American community, you are looking at him.”

Wow.

Just, wow…..

Willard Romney who, as much as it makes the editors of Politico nervous to hear anyone say it, really is more comfortable around white people, went to the NAACP convention in Houston on Wednesday morning and attempted to put the best face on, well, his face…..

… Right now, the party of which he is the putative nominee is doing all it can to suppress enough minority voters in places like Pennsylvania. It’s very strange to see Romney pitching himself to African Americans while his entire party is hip-deep in a campaign to make sure as few African Americans as possible get a chance to vote for anyone, let alone for Mitt Romney. This is something he might have mentioned in his speech in Houston, if he really wanted points for courage. Woody Allen said 80 percent of success is showing up, but it’s that other 20 percent that really counts.

Full post here

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Steve Benen: …. I’ve been following NAACP conventions for quite a while now, and I can’t recall ever hearing such a lengthy, sustained booing….

The wonk in me feels compelled to mention that Romney’s argument wasn’t even coherent on its face – he said he wants to kill the Affordable Care Act to reduce the deficit, which is absurd since killing the Affordable Care Act would increase the deficit.

But I think it’s probably safe to say that’s not why Romney was booed. In fact, this was entirely predictable – the far-right Republican presidential candidate spoke to the NAACP and effectively proclaimed, “Vote for me and I’ll make sure 7 million African Americans lose their health insurance.”

What kind of campaign pitch is that? For crying out loud, of course Romney got booed. At the risk of being overly cynical, I can’t help but wonder if Romney did this on purpose precisely so he would be booed.

More here

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If you can bare to watch it, here’s the full nauseating Romney speech (thanks Sonjia):

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Monday’s interviews with local TV:

President Obama’s interview with WMUR, ABC, Manchester, NH.

President Obama’s interview with WWLTV, CBS, New Orleans, LA.

President Obama’s interview with WRAL, CBS, Raleigh, NC.

President Obama’s interview with WISN, ABC, Milwaukee, WI.

President Obama’s interview with KSNV, NBC, Las Vegas, NV.

President Obama’s interview with KWQC, NBC, Davenport, IA.

President Obama’s interview with WLKY, CBS, Louisville, KY.

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Chat away

teaming up

Thanks Meabloom

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden at a ‘Joining Forces’ event before the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway on November 20 in Homestead, Florida

matthew shepard died 13 years ago today

Politicususa: … On October 7th, 1998, Matthew Shepard accepted a ride from Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson … they drove Matthew into the country, tied him to a fence post and beat him severely … they attacked Matthew because he was gay. They left him there in the cold dark, bleeding and unconscious until a cyclist found him, almost 18 hours later. Matthew died from his injuries on October 12th, 1998…

Eleven years after Matthew’s death, President Barack Obama signed into law The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act … this bill makes it a federal crime to assault people based on their gender, sexual orientation and gender identity … Judy Shepard had visited President Obama in the Oval Office and he had made her a promise that this day would come. By signing The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Act into law, President Obama kept his promise to Matthew’s family.

…. I asked many people to share their memories of Matthew Shepard with me, including Captain Stephen Snyder-Hill … the Army officer who was booed at the Republican debate…

Joshua Snyder-Hill: … A year later I was taken to DC for my first equality event. I was still not out to my family or friends. The one thing I remember most were the people picketing the concert hall cheering Matthew’s death and celebrating it as a victory. I remember all my fear of coming out melted away. I had spent three days in DC seeing nothing but hope and activism until that moment; it was then and there I decided, I had to be part of the fight for equality. Matthew’s death and the energy behind it, made me want to be proud of who I was and show love conquered hate.

Full article here

The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 2009:

Rest in peace, Matthew Shepard

every day, it gets better

romney can’t bring himself to support gay soldier

ThinkProgress (thanks Fred).

Compare. Contrast:

“you want to be commander in chief…..?”

Full speech:

‘i did not hear those boos’

ooops

NJ.com: Gov. Chris Christie used his address at Seton Hall University’s commencement ceremony yesterday to urge the graduates to follow his lead and become “disrupters” who aren’t afraid to challenge the status quo.

But before he could begin the speech, part of the 2,281-member graduating class did a little disrupting of their own and loudly booed the governor as he walked to the podium.

The chorus of jeers echoing through the Izod Center in East Rutherford mostly came from arts and science graduates and students in Seton Hall’s education college, whose dean had questioned whether Christie was an appropriate graduation speaker. Other graduates countered the boos by giving the governor a standing ovation.

…Near the end of his speech, someone in the arena yelled “Shut up!”…..

Full article here